Canon EF 400mm f/4 IS DO L

400mm f/4 IS DO L:

1.94kg; $A11179; introduced in 2001; ($A8149 online)

tends to have DO artefacts as it was Canon's 1st attempt at designing a DO lens (uses diffraction gratings), but otherwise, almost as good as the 300mm f/2.8, and better than the 300mm f/2.8 with 1.4x teleconv.

models after 1998 are supposedly better.

a favorite for wildlife photographers, many of whom handhold this lens.

some feel it lacks the contrast of the other L lenses.

probably not the best for astrophotography as it has both IS and DO elements which are not so good on pinpoint light sources like stars.

Canon EF 500mm f/4 IS L

Canon EF 600mm f/4 IS L

600mm f/4 IS L:

5.36kg; $A15299 ($A11000 online)

this is much more difficult to handle and use than the 500mm f/4 but once mounted it works well.

requires a full size Wimberley mount

Samir Kharusi feels that this lens competes well with modern APO refractors in 2007 for astrophotography - see here, with better edge to edge performance although not quite as good contrast or image detail in the centre. Has enough aperture and magnification to provide good webcam images of Saturn using a 1.4x converter + a 5x TV Powermate although having some bluish flare decreasing detail and contrast.

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM

Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM

2008; 4.5kg (lighter than the 600mm f/4 which is 5.4kg); $US11,999 RRRP